SEASON'S GREETINGS!

Hope all is well with everybody and that there is no lasting resentment for my tardiness.

I've been in a funk for months and decided just stepping away from writing for a bit would help. It's been a long, slow, uphill battle. Thankfully, Christmastime always fills me with good cheer and inspiration.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY NEW YEAR! I LOVE YOU ALL!

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A TOKEN OF AFFECTION

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11 -

"Movement" [Activity]

Godai left the alley, flinching when he once again found himself in bright autumn sunlight. He took his shades from his breast pocket, only to find the lenses broken and the frames bent as he started to put them on.

"Dammit…!" Recalling the brief scuffle he'd just left, he knew there was no helping it and tossed them into the first trash bin he found. He'd taken too long; "Red" was probably already waiting for him.

Sure enough, Kanae was standing right where Godai had promised to wait for her. A crepe in each hand and a scowl on her pretty face, she looked ready to bite him when she caught sight of him.

"Where did you go?"

"Green room," he lied, taking his crepe and biting into it with a, "Thanks."

The redhead's glare persisted. "So why did I have to get crepes from that particular shop?"

''Cause it's far enough away,' was the truth. What he said was, "They got the best strawberries," as he bit into the savory snack.

It was a fact—one he'd actually learned from the Detective—even if it wasn't the truth.

"Dude, come on! Your face!"

He silently cursed not remembering the blows he'd taken would bruise quickly. "Don't worry, I was born with it."

Kanae didn't look ready to let it slide. "Come on," she sighed again. "I was sent with you to help. How am I supposed to do that if you keep pushing me out of the way?"

Godai knew there were certain places she'd be perfect to help get information from certain parties, but he didn't relish the idea of putting her in that position. She was far too normal to get involved in the shit of his everyday life, of the world he belonged to.

Which made it irritating that he couldn't go without her, on account of the Monster's orders.

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"Now that I have your undivided attention," the creature before the group sighed as he switched faces again.

No one looked at each other for understanding, completely stunned by what they had just witnessed. Far worse than anything they had ever seen in the waking world, they couldn't find any words to say.

His first orders went to the one accustomed to having to obey him. "Godai, you will investigate any sources you might have on the street. Find out if anyone has noticed anything new or anything missing. You," he pointed to Kanae, making her jump, "will accompany him. As a woman, you can go places he can't. Ask anyone and every that comes to mind, get some answers. The slightest thing out of place will give me something to start from."

Luckily, Godai—having prior experience with Neuro's inhumanity—managed a stiff nod in response to his orders. By this point, his sense of pain had started to return and he nearly buckled under her manicured grip on his arm.

"…Yeah. Right. Okay."

"Correct answer. Very good."

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Kanae was barely halfway through her own crepe when she finally asked, "So...What is he?"

"A freak," was his blunt reply as he took another huge bite. "Always been a freak. Since day one, just a freaky-fucking-freak."

"I know plenty of freaky people. Hell, my best friend is one! Did you know, she used to eat books in kindergarten?" It was enough to tickle a little smile between the two of them. "But that! That was…not right!"

There was no other way she could describe it, no other definition beyond 'not right'. Whatever it was, it didn't belong in the real world. It belonged in nightmares.

It was obvious that Godai agreed with her, wholeheartedly, but also accepted it wasn't something he could change.

"The Detective knows," he told her. "And whatever he is, she still likes him! What the hell!"

Neither knew how, but they both knew it was true. And that, while not making any sense to them, made perfect sense when they considered Yako. It was simply part of the picture when they considered Yako.

Continuing to snack away with slightly more vigor, Kanae sighed. "Okay, mister Criminal Mastermind. Where to next?"

Godai sighed too, balling up the wrapper and napkin from his finished crepe. "There's this one club I know about. The owner usually has her ears open to whatever's in the works, but she'd never talk to me."

"How come?"

"She's not partial to guys. In any sense of the word…"

Kanae blinked, but didn't flinch. "Oh. Okay. That's where I come in, right?"

"You sure you wanna?" The man asked cagily. "I've only heard rumors, so I dunno if she might take to you…or if you'd even want her to…"

"I've gone with Yako on a couple of her trips overseas, I've watched her work, I've met her friends," the redhead answered confidently. "That British lady—Oh, I can never remember her name!—she's bi and perfectly reasonable, even if she hardly budges in her opinions and values. People are people. And I've visited clubs before; I think I can try talking."

Godai couldn't very well turn her away when she was so confidant in her success.

"Have you…" He paused to clear his throat. "There any word on the Detective…?"

Kanae rolled up her own wrapper and tossed it into the trashcan outside a small café. "I called Haruka-san this morning. No better. No worse."

It wasn't much, but hearing 'no better' was preferable to hearing 'worse' in these circumstances. It drew them back into their thoughts while still putting their best foot forward. So focused on the task ahead, neither one of them noticed the tall blonde that had been listening to their conversation from of the outdoor café tables while enjoying her coffee with a soft smile. Perhaps it was the sunglasses she had always worn when about town. They simply didn't notice her and went their own way.

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"…is there anyone else in the department I can call?" Otto turned the pages of his notepad, every inch covered in various languages of writing, to a blank one. Sadly, the man on the other end of the line had no more information for him. "Thanks anyway. I left my number with you, right? Okies. Thanks again."

The click of the phone kissing receiver was mildly satisfying, but offered no more of an answer than the last two dozen numbers he had called. Yako knew a lot of people around the world, and Otto had actually struggled to keep her current condition away from a few of them. A few people in France and England had been surprisingly sharp and he fumbled a little in assuring them everything was fine. But one local number, to some shop, had a rather cool-voiced young man with enough questionable insight to make Otto hang up the phone mid-conversation.

Just now finishing with a call with a Higuchi Yuuya at the P.D.—who was apparently very aware of Neuro's inhumanity—Otto was starting to think there was no trail from Yako's work to the culprit who shot her.

Otto once more turned his bright eyes to the piece in the container on the desk.

Their only real clue. But it offered little to him as it was now.

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"Otto, return to the office and go through case records with Akane," the Brain-Eater told the Tongue-Eater. "Look for any incidents Yako may have encountered Hell-Blood."

"Righty-tighty!" The smaller Demon saluted, turning on his heel to leave.

"Also," Neuro added suddenly. His Evil Friday had returned to his hand—its appearance making all the Humans in the room jump back and cringe—and with it, the small container from the doctor's desk. He looked at the small piece of stone-wood with mild interest and deep disgust before tossing it to Otto. "See if you can't determine the origins of this."

Catching it, rattling the small piece of evidence in the container, Otto sighed, "It might have been easier before you killed it."

"Make do," Neuro disregarded his dilemma with ease.

Unable to object further, the old-young Demon sighed again. "Yeppers peppers, boss-man."

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It was certainly Demon-born, no denying that. But what little Otto could garner from licking it, he couldn't say that it tasted like Hell. Whatever weapon it had come from had not grown in their realm's soil.

"That doesn't make sense, though!" He scratched his head and kicking his feet in frustration.

A light tapping against the whiteboard drew his attention to Akane and the small cup of tea steaming on her desk.

[You should take a small break] She wrote.

"I don't know if I have the time…" Otto sighed.

Akane insisted, [You'll work better with a clear head]

"True," he nodded and took a seat and the offered cup. He felt a bit of relief as the hot liquid wash down his throat. "Delicious, as always, Akane."

The black braid waved and curled happily, and the Tongue-Eater was happy for her.

Still, this was certainly a mystery if Otto had ever seen one. Normally, Neuro would be chomping at the bit and running all around to solve a 'Puzzle' like this. It was incredible that the Brain-Eater had opted to stay at Yako's side while sending everyone else out to investigate.

But with only one piece of evidence and no suspects, any progress would remain halted until the others caught something in the net. Otto would definitely have to send the bullet back to the Emperor if they were to learn anything more; he simply didn't possess the means to learn more on his own. He'd have to start gathering his strength to do so, which might take a few hours.

In which case, he needed something to occupy himself in the meantime.

"Lessee if Troy has anything to say…"

Without further preamble, Otto began opening drawers and rifling through the contents of the blood-red desk, flipping through things of both Yako's and Neuro's use. Almost immediately, a particular piece of paper that reeked of deep thought, folded into a perfectly symmetrical triangle, caught his eye. Carefully taking it between thumb and forefinger, the not-boy unfolded it to find a rough sketch of the most hideous piece of finger jewelry his pale blue eyes had ever had the misfortune of finding.

"Tongues of my Ancestors! I hope this is a first draft!"

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Officers Usui and Tsukushi could not find their only piece of evidence in the attack on Katsuragi Yako. Without leaving the room it had been in, with Doctor Mori barely out of his chair, the fragment removed from the girl's spine had completely vanished. They had looked all over, scoured the room from corner to corner, never finding anything.

Needless to say, Usui was upset. Worry and humiliation colored his usually pale face, leaving him pacing his office over and over again.

"This is unacceptable! How could I let this happen?" He snarled to no one. "It may have seemed ridiculous to trace, but it was all the evidence we had! Having it stolen, I feel incompetent!"

Tsukushi returned with another report and a fresh cup of tea towards the end of his newest rant. "We all share in your feelings, Usui. Unfortunately, there's been no news on the matter of yesterday's shooting."

"No eyewitnesses," the man sighed. He eyed what little the reports had to say with disdain, though he took the tea with more appreciation. Exhausted, but too wound up to even sit down, Usui always took comfort in Tsukushi's tea or coffee. "Not surprising, considering such a busy street she was on when it happened. Has anything come back about any potential suspects? God knows how many criminals Katsuragi has dealt with in the past few years."

"None that Higuchi was able to find," Tsukushi replied, reading his own copy of the hacker's information. "It was quite a list, to be sure, but no one strikes any chords. What's more, anyone who might hold a grudge against her is still in custody of their respective country."

He casually cleared his throat, "Of course…these are only what culprits and crimes have been listed according to the law."

Both men could appreciate the numbers on the list before them, considering how young Yako had started in being a Private Investigator. Back when they had first met, Usui had only seen a little girl playing Detective; seeing her grow these past few years, he couldn't deny she had come into her own as a real woman. She wasn't even a full twenty years old yet.

There was a slight tension in the office as they recalled a certain visit about a year ago from a rather imposing woman from the British Embassy and her polite but ice cold decree that whatever service Katsuragi Yako had done or ever would do for their organization was classified. It had burned Usui's pride to have to swallow it back then, but one Sir Integra Hellsing had clearly visited him that day only to hear him say "Yes, of course."

It burned anew with the occasional incident that called others visiting from wholly different countries into his office, only to say and hear the exact same thing. Katsuragi Yako had garnered a reputation of her own, and with it came a vast amount of respect and favors from those of the highest and brightest standing to the darkest most anonymous characters.

"And there is, of course, the matter of the missing evidence…"

Usui gnashed his teeth over his tea. "Katsuragi Yako's 'assistant'! He would be the first person I'd suspect of taking it, after that declaration of war of his! Except he never went anywhere near the damned desk before it went missing!"

Tsukushi's dark eyes became distant behind his superior's back. Recalling that burning-cold feeling when he had grabbed him, a small shiver cut through his strong frame worse than any blade ever could. "He may not have needed to…"

His superior blinked, "What was that?"

"Nothing at all, sir," the larger man immediately replied. He wanted to dismiss it entirely, like that odd shadow he sometimes caught flittering about at the corner of his eye, as a trick of the light.

But instinct and experience warned that it would be phenomenally stupid to ignore any breed predator.

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"…so don't worry," Hisanori replied, adjusting his phone as he left the car. "She's stable, and I'm confident the doctors will take good care of her."

"…okay…" was Mutsuki's meek reply on the other end of the call. "Can I go see her…?"

"Only her family is allowed to see her right now," he told his petite sweet regretfully. "But if you'd like, maybe I can take you to the hospital tomorrow and you can offer the Detective's mother your best wishes."

"Okay…" she repeated, though she sounded a bit better at the prospect. "Are you working right now?"

"Sort of," the dark man glanced at his brother, ever at his side, as they paused in front of a particular bar.

"Stay safe. I love you," Mutsuki offered a small kissed against her receiver.

"I love you, too," Hisanori smiled. "And I'll talk to you later."

Finished, he returned his phone to his pocket and faced the bar with an entirely different air from a mere second ago and entered the establishment with determined steps.

Within the dimly lit establishment, the familiar rank of smoke, liquor and sweat of the patrons was usually an odd sort of shelter for Hisanori and Yuki's work. Really, it was a place for business such as theirs to thrive without bothering others of a similar occupation. To each their own business. On normal days, the Hayasaka brothers were fine to leave everyone else alone unless it involved their work.

Their visit today was not work-related, and it was most certainly not a normal day.

"Mind if I deal?" Hisanori smiled to a particularly large group gathered at the far end of the bar. Without waiting for a response, he took the deck and a seat and started shuffling. Yuki chose to remain standing beside his chair. "It's been a while since I've played, I could use a good game."

The group bristled at the man's nerve. "Hayasaka, I thought we had an understanding."

"Indeed, we still have that understanding," the man replied, dealing cards to each man around the table. "However, I find myself in need of information. Doubtless, you all know something about the shooting of a young woman on the street just yesterday?"

There were more negative than affirmative glances around the table, but the few were all Hisanori needed.

"Perhaps if someone happened to know who fired that shot? Or something pertaining to it?"

No answer was forthcoming. Each man's face turning stern or mocking at his inquiry.

"Alright, how about this, then?" Hisanori smiled pleasantly, observing the cards in his hand. "If you don't give me an answer, a name, some bit of information I can use, in five minutes, my brother and I will be the only people at this table still standing. Ten minutes after that, by brother and I will probably be the only ones in this room still standing."

Needless to say, the men gathered around the table all stood up, eager to prove the dark man wrong.

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"All of you will look into any potential leads among your own circles for anything out of place," Neuro explained as he sat down on the bed beside Yako. "Ask around, then look around. Doubtless, you will notice things that others have missed now that you can see them."

Needless to say, none of them really understood what he meant, but no one said anything against it.

"Any specific place we should start looking?" Hisanori asked with a sigh.

"You have your own connections, your own methods," Neuro told them. "Use them."

"Shouldn't someone stay behind to look after Yako?" Yuki asked, not about to stay frozen in fear of seeing something he had always known. "Who's to say the assassin won't show up here to finish the job?"

"I will be here to keep watch," replied the monster easily. "Should I need to leave and investigate, you will return and stand guard, Yukinori."

Yuki could accept that with some grace.

"Then we're off," the elder Hayasaka brother nodded to all the ladies in the room before turning to leave. "Let's go, Yuki."

Despite her calm expression, Haruka was reluctant to let go of Yuki's hand. "Where? To see who?"

"Whoever we can," Hisanori smiled, this time with some actual amusement. "You can get more with a kind word and a 2'x4" than you can with just a kind word."

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Yuki landed one last punch, breaking his opponent's nose and throwing him back against the wall.

A bit breathless, he saw Hisanori finish wiping his hands off with a handkerchief, looking tired and smug. The two brothers exchanged a brief chuckle at their obvious victory, before they realized something: They were indeed the last people in the bard still standing.

"Fuck!" Yuki snapped. "Now I've got to wait for somebody to wake up!"

An out of place, chipper ringtone suddenly made both brothers stop and check their pockets. It was Yuki's phone this time.

"Haruka-san!" He answered hastily. "How are you? How's Yako?"

"No changes…" The woman answered. "I'm sorry to bother you while you're working so hard, I just…wanted to hear your voice…"

"I wanted to hear yours, too," Yuki found he could admit sincerely. "Don't feel bad, you're never a bother to me. If you need to talk to me, I'm always here."

"Yuki-kun...do you like Yako?"

The snowy-haired man blinked. "Of course. I've known her long enough for me to say that I like her a lot. Although I'm probably not her favorite person in the world right now," he offered a dry chuckle. "She's gutsy, really sweet and surprisingly funky, which is a rare combination. I think I've always liked her, really."

He heard his lover hum thoughtfully on the other end of the line. He couldn't understand why she would ask him that, but Yuki supposed she needed some sort of confirmation right now.

"Did you want me to bring you something for dinner tonight? I'll get anything you feel like," he offered gently. "You should still eat right..."

"I don't want to trouble you," Haruka replied. But then she sighed, knowing Yuki would come by to see her either way. "…Honestly, I'd love a quarter pounder with cheese."

A sudden, very pained groan from one of the many bodies on the floor drew both pairs of eyes. It was the barkeep.

"I gotta go, Haruka-san," Yuki said. "But I'll be by with your burger later tonight, I promise."

"Right, thank you. I love you, Yuki…"

Haruka rarely said his name without an honorific; he felt happy and melancholy in the same instant. "I love you too…"

Hanging up, he found that in the meantime, Hisanori had caught the barkeep by his shirt and lifted him up in an arm lock.

"Are we feeling a bit more courteous?" The elder Hayasaka asked pleasantly as the injured man choked a little. "A bit more chatty, perhaps?"

"I can't!" He spat. "They'd…fillet me alive!"

"Maybe," Yuki stepped up to glare coldly at the man. "But there's always someone capable to doing worse. Isn't there?"

Despite his shuddering, the barkeep buttoned his lip.

"Okay, how's about this instead?" Hisanori offered, pleasant and icy. "You have a very important decision to make: Do you want to tell me what you know, or spend the rest of your life eating through a straw?"

The smaller man shuddered and gasped, turning his head as best he could to look left and right as he thought and thought. Finally, "Th-There was…something…?"

"I'm listening."

"A c-couple a weeks ago…! S-Someone that looked like Kasai Zenjirou came in here…"

The Hayasaka brothers tried to keep their shock off their faces, but both looked to the other in astonishment. That was not a name they were likely to forget, and certainly not one they expected to hear again.

"Keep talking."

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Upon first arriving in the Human World, Neuro had understood immediately that the dominant species on the planet was blind.

Yako had not fully acknowledged him even when he had spoken to her. It took him stepping out in the open, antagonizing her with a display of his inhumanity for her to really see him. Even SICKS, for all his remarkable abilities, did not perceive Neuro as unusual until the Demon blatantly withstood the man's presence the night of Yako's rescue and X's capture.

Perhaps the ability to see had been lost after a certain key of logic had closed the barrier between what they could perceive as ordinary and that which was impossible but existed anyway. Or perhaps they gave up their Sight in order to protect themselves from those inhuman things that lurked in shadow, waiting just beyond the edge of the wilderness. If they ignored and forgot the creatures that frightened them so, there was a better chance of being ignored and forgotten in turn.

Yako had likely never noticed, already so naturally perceptive, that the things she saw Neuro do garnered no reaction from those around them. She never noticed that no other Humans could see the 777 Tools of the Demon World when he summoned them. Even the 7 Weapons of the Demon Emperor could be overlooked if they weren't in a direct line of sight.

Neuro had learned that there were ways to take the blinders off. It didn't take much. Just a display of power could allow someone to see through his smile to just how dangerous he was. But what Neuro needed was opened eyes to find what he needed.

Showing his other face was enough to make Yako's friend, Kanae scream. It was only because Otto was quick to cover her mouth that no one came running in to investigate. Godai didn't seem to feel how her manicured nails were digging into his arm, his own shock and horror overriding all else. Hisanori looked ill, his complexion grey and his smile more than a little strained. Yuki was torn between moving to protect his brother or his lover, any danger to himself virtually ignored.

It was Haruka, with her big black eyes wide open, who looked the least horrified. Not to say there wasn't a fair amount of revulsion at the sight of him, but there was something else. A flicker of recognition; an understanding. A strange sort of, "Oh, so that's what it was," settling in her gaze that seemed to help her overcome the initial horror.

Neuro would look into that matter—as well as plenty others—later, as right now there were far more important things to talk about; more important orders to issue to his crew.

"Now that I have your undivided attention…"

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Haruka returned to her chair with a sigh as she wrapped her own small blanket tighter around her shoulders. She had never liked hospitals; both her own parents passed away in a place just like this, just months apart from each other when Yako was still a baby. She didn't want her only daughter to be here. She didn't want to lose her in a place like this.

Taking Yako's right hand in hers, Haruka didn't like how cold it felt and gently tried to rub warmth back into her child's fingers. Though she felt assured that Yako's left hand was warm; Neuro hadn't let go of her since the others had left the room last night. He sat on the bed beside her, holding her hand and tracing the familiar bruise that circled her ring finger.

"I had always wondered why you just showed up that day," she said.

The creature her daughter loved so much didn't blink at all as he raised his green-black eyes.

"Why she suddenly decided to try her hand at being a detective and solve Shuichiro's murder…" Haruka sighed. "It was all you, putting the pieces together…"

It wasn't a question. Neuro could hear her words locking something into place, making the picture in her mind whole. And he couldn't hear any fear or anger in her tones at all. He was used to others asking him questions, even back in Hell; he simply knew too much. And if anyone happened to 'see' him, naturally there would be questions.

But Haruka didn't ask him anything.

Instead, it was Neuro who found himself asking, "Do you know something about me?"

At this, Haruka smiled. In some way, it reminded him of his own Mother. It was a strange comfort for the Brain-Eater. "Seiichi knew more than I do."

Neuro was mildly shamed that it took him a moment to place the name, though it didn't show on his face in the slightest. "The late Katsuragi Seiichi-san."

"You never got the chance to meet Seiichi," she mused sadly. "But I think you two would have got along. He always had a way of making friends with the most bizarre people, had the strangest stories to tell. In that way, Yako takes after him a lot…"

Neuro knew Yako's disposition and reputation, so he wondered how father and daughter compared.

"What sort of 'bizarre people' did your husband associate with?" The Demon wondered if he should be concerned or amused at how many inquiries he was making lately.

"Not so different from Yako's own acquaintances," the woman shrugged. "Law enforcement, mafia, arsonists, sorcerers…demons…"So I imagine he would have been the sort of person who could get along with someone like you."

'Brain-Eater' Neuro openly blinked at this last group. Haruka met his gaze evenly, knowing he was part of it.

But neither one had the chance to say another word about it. At that moment, as though waiting for it, one of the monitors started shrieking.

The green line that should have been pulsing had fallen flat.

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"CODE BLUE! CODE BLUE! ICU!"

"Flat line! No pulse!"

"Epinephrine!"

"Katsuragi-san, I need you both to leave the room."

Such a cacophony of noise, grating on his ears and his brain, Neuro was too distracted by it to refuse the doctor and nurse as he was ushered from the room. He didn't know what Haruka chose to do as they stood out in the hall; his awareness couldn't seem to extend farther than the door in front of him and the sound he could hear from within.

When he had held her hand, he hadn't attempted to use any of his tools or power on her. Being human, Yako couldn't be helped with his brand of healing. Like when she had been shot and he had killed the bullet, it would undoubtedly cause more harm than good. He knew he had to leave it to the human doctors and their methods of healing, but he felt restless…

No.

Useless.

For the first time in his life, 'Brain-Eater' Neuro felt honestly useless.

He didn't want to acknowledge Godai's earlier accusations, but found the stupid Human was right. For all his power, it was useless to him, to Yako now. He couldn't mend her broken body, he couldn't keep her here with him.

"You'll live for a long time; longer than any Human, right?" Yako had asked him. "Then when I die, you'll have plenty of time to forget about me."

He had acknowledged her mortality that night. It was obvious that she, being a Human, wouldn't live as long as he would. But he hadn't wanted to imagine this world without Yako. This world of bountiful Puzzles and his Human were entwined; he couldn't see one without the other, even in his dreams. He couldn't.

Placing his gloved hands against the door, hearing but not comprehending the words exchanged beyond it, Neuro felt her slipping out of his hands entirely. He felt his fury at her attacker, his strange hunger for Yako's whole person, as well as his normal hunger fall silent and numb. From deep within that silence, something quiet spoke out and echoed through him.

'Don't go.'

Such a small thing. Such a simple thing.

'Don't go.'

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